HIS R9 280 IceQ X2 OC 3GB Review

With the newly released NVIDIA “Maxwell” cards taking up everyone’s attention, what about the gamer on a budget? Ok I did take a look at the MSI GTX 970 and it was a fantastic card; problem is, it costs £280 so what is there out there on the market who doesn’t quite have the spending power desired to pick up a newly released card? Well HIS and AMD might just have the solution in the way of their R9 280 graphics card.

So to give you the general gist of whom HIS actually are. They were founded in 1987 with an ethos to manufacture and create some of the best quality components you have ever seen! They are an all AMD brand so they have authority from AMD to produce 1st tier products for the green coloured giants; quite a lot of companies have gone this way over recent times too. HIS actually stands for Hightech Information System Ltd which is a bit of a mouthful and has been shorted to….you guessed it, HIS.

So what is the card in question? Well it’s the HIS R9 280 IceQ X2 3GB graphics card which features support for Crossfire, ATI Eyefinity (multi monitor setups) and Direct X 11.2/Mantle API support which have crept into the mainstream since release. With a price of under £160, how much of a bargain (if it is) is this particular card and have HIS surpassed themselves with their IceQ cooler again? Let’s find out shall we, starting with the specifications of the card itself…

A little more about the AMD R9 280 graphics card:

The AMD Radeon™ R9 280X/280 graphics processor harnesses visionary GCN Architecture. This GPU is primed to enable astonishing performance and breathtaking image quality, making it a top choice for gamers who expect the best.

And we mean what we say:

Prepare 4 battle with the AMD Radeon™ R9 280X/280 graphics processor.

With Ultra Resolution Gaming you can leave HD in the dust by gaming on displays much, much larger. Whether using a 4k monitor or combining multiple HD monitors, you’ll get an expansive experience that’s truly out of sight.

Mantle gives game developers the power to speak directly to the GPU core. With such a direct connection to your hardware, game developers are discovering a whole new world of immersion and performance made possible by AMD graphics leadership.